Lakewood Invisalign experts
Brodsky Orthodontics is your trusted expert straightening smiles for patients of all ages in Lakewood, Long Beach, and surrounding communities. For teens and adults who want the same results traditional braces provide, but with more freedom and flexibility, Invisalign could be the answer!
What is involved in Lakewood Invisalign treatment?
The Invisalign clear aligner system aligns your teeth and improves your oral health by using a series of clear, removable aligners. At your first consultation, we’ll use x-rays and digital impressions to create a precise 3D image of the teeth. From this, we build a customized aligner that is specific to each patient’s smile. The trays are made out of a smooth, comfortable material that fits firmly over the teeth. These trays are designed to be switched out every 1-2 weeks to keep up with the teeth as they move into their desired new positions. When used as directed, Invisalign has been proven to be just as effective as traditional braces at treating many of the most common orthodontic issues.
What are the benefits of choosing Lakewood Invisalign treatment?
One of the biggest benefits of Invisalign aligners besides being nearly invisible is the fact that you can take them off. Because Invisalign aligners are designed to be removed before eating or drinking anything other than water, you’ll never have to worry about food getting stuck in brackets or wires. They’re also meant to be removed before brushing and flossing. This makes it much easier to access your teeth and maintain a good oral hygiene routine, which is especially important for orthodontic patients.
The removable nature of the clear aligners also means you can avoid any food restrictions, which can be one of the biggest learning curves with traditional braces. With Invisalign, you don’t have to stop eating any of your favorite foods while you’re working on a straighter smile! Aligners do need to be removed before all meals in order to avoid staining and should be cleaned and rinsed out with warm water at least once or twice a day.
With Invisalign aligners, there are no pesky wires to poke out and irritate your mouth, and there aren’t any adjustment appointments. Invisalign wearers can still expect to attend follow-up visits about every 6-8 weeks, however, so that Dr. Joel Brodsky or Dr. Charles Brodsky can be sure everything is progressing on schedule.
How does the Lakewood Invisalign system work?
The Invisalign system is pretty straightforward. You need to wear each aligner for about two weeks. You should only take the aligner off to eat drink, brush, or floss. Your teeth will move slowly and consistently as you replace each aligner with the next one in the series until your teeth reach their target positions.
During visits with Brodsky Orthodontics, we’ll check to make sure treatment is moving forward on schedule. Patients must keep up with changing the aligners on time, and must also wear them as directed. This is the most important element to success with your Lakewood Invisalign! Your trays will be custom designed to fit your unique dental needs and will need to be changed frequently in order to keep up with the shifting of the teeth as they begin to straighten. Skipping your appointments or not changing aligners as scheduled can quickly undo any progress that’s been made.
It’s important to remember that every patient will respond to orthodontic treatment differently. Invisalign works in a slightly different and less invasive way than braces to straighten the teeth, so it can be hard to say with certainty how long a patient will need to wear them before seeing results. Though the average tends to be somewhere between 6 and 18 months, this can vary widely from case to case and depends a great deal on patient compliance.
The average treatment time is estimated based on patients following the recommended guidelines by wearing their aligners at least 20-22 hours every single day, throughout the course of treatment. Any deviation from this, however small, can add extra time to the overall process. Invisalign can only work if patients stick to the plan.
To learn more about Lakewood Invisalign, or to find out if you are a good candidate for the Invisalign aligners, please contact our office to schedule a complimentary consultation.